The Return
by lolsrsly
Summary: Susan continues on without her siblings. Narnia continues on without Susan. But Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian are determined to pull Queen Susan the Gentle back into Narnia, where she belongs. If only she would believe.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I am a broke college student who does not own a house, a unicorn, or these characters.**

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"And then she said that it was a family heirloom. Can you believe her? As if I don't know paste from real diamonds when I see them" Mary sniffed, turning her nose up in the air.

"Mm," Susan made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat.

"Are you even listening, Su?"

"Of course I am," Susan said irritably, even as she scanned the crowd for signs of Jack. He had promised to return with her coat.

"Let me see your ring again" Mary begged.

Susan held her hand out to the girl beside her, praying Jack would return quickly. The diamond caught the light of a nearby table, reflecting brilliantly for a second before becoming dull once again. Everything was dull nowadays, even the parties that had once been such fun to attend. Beside her, Mary sighed.

"It's lovely. Have you decided on a day yet?"

Finally turning her attention to the younger girl, Susan laughed.

"No, I haven't. I'm only twenty two, there will be plenty of time before we have to decide"

"Oh of course," Mary nodded solemnly, "It must be difficult for you"

Susan narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Seeing Susan's anger, Mary tried to backtrack quickly, "Well what I meant to say is that, Jack's family is lovely but it's obviously no comparison to your own"

Her patience running thin, Susan stood angrily. It had been two years but any mention of her family still brought a hard lump to her throat. Trying to compose herself, she mustered enough control to smile thinly at Mary before excusing herself, only to turn and run right into Jack.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he joked, wrapping her coat around her.

Susan relaxed marginally before linking her arm through his, "I was about to send a search party for you."

Jack laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. The light reflected the silver hair at his temples. "Oh Su, sometimes I think you must be older than I am with all the worrying you do. I'm sorry I took so long dear" he said before kissing her cheek.

"Goodnight Mary" Susan said, leading Jack out the door. The two of them left Mary by herself on the seat in the corner, watching them wistfully.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_"Susan"_

_"Susan"_

_"Su-"_

Susan woke sharply as she felt someone pinch her. Turning, she found Jack on his side, snoring quietly. She felt a sudden sense of urgency. Perhaps she had left the door unlocked. Climbing out from under the sheets, Susan crept quietly through the house to check the front door. It was locked. Grumbling at her own stupidity she made her way back to bed before she stopped short in front of the fireplace. On the mantle was a lion figurine that looked incredibly realistic.

_When had Jack gotten this, and why hadn't he told her?_

Something about the lion was familiar to her. She half expected it to step off the mantle and speak to her, but that was ridiculous. It was just her mind playing tricks on her so late at night. Shaking her head and feeling rather foolish for having climbed out of bed in the middle of the night she padded back toward bed. Just as she pulled the sheets over herself once more and was ready to close her eyes and let sleep claim her, Susan was sure she heard someone calling her name. She was sure it was Peter's voice. But that was impossible.


	2. Chapter 2

_Narnia_

"Ed, have you seen Lucy?" Peter asked his younger brother.

Edmund didn't move from his spot as he stared at the map in front of him. The truth was, he had seen Lucy, but once again she had run off in tears after their latest argument. It had been about Susan. It was always about Susan recently.

"No, I haven't" he said, hoping Peter would go away. Instead of walking away as Edmund had hoped he would, the oldest Pevensie came to stand behind his brother. Edmund tensed as he felt Peter's hand on his shoulder.

"What's that you've got there?"

"Nothing," Edmund said, gritting his teeth. He was sure that if Peter knew he and Lucy had fought, Peter would undoubtedly take Lucy's side. Peter had expressed hope that Susan would one day join them in Narnia, that Susan had never stopped believing. It was the real world, England, that was making it hard for her to hold on to the real memories she had of Narnia. Peter, who always thought he knew best as the High King, and Lucy, ever the optimistic one, continued to hold out hope that Susan would return. Edmund also hoped, but he knew better than to believe that Susan could make it to Narnia on her own.

The tent flap was pulled back and Lucy joined her brothers, followed closely by Caspian, her eyes were red from crying.

"Lu, what's wrong?" Peter asked.

Lucy glared angrily at Edmund who avoided her gaze before she answered, "nothing".

Caspian joined Edmund and Peter at the table before looking down at the map in front of Edmund.

"You know, Reepicheep tells me he saw the white stag, not far from here" he said pointing to a spot on the map "We should go after it, make a trip out of it"

The three Pevensies looked at each other glumly. The last time they had chased the white stag, Susan had been with them. Lucy crossed her arms and continued to glare at Edmund.

"Well if the three of you had another idea -" Caspian began.

"It isn't that Caspian. You see, the last time we went looking for the stag, we ended up returning to England and it was the four of us." Peter didn't need to tell Caspian who he was referring to when he said 'the four of us'. Caspian missed Susan just as much as the rest of the Pevensies. He and Susan had always had an undeniable chemistry, but nothing had come of it as she had told him that she would not be returning in the foreseeable future the last time she had arrived in Narnia, to help Caspian claim the throne.

"We could pay the beavers a visit," Lucy offered lamely.

"We did that every day for the last week," Edmund scoffed.

"Ed" Peter said warningly as they saw Lucy's lower lip tremble, "I think it's a great idea Lu, why don't you wait for us outside?"

Lucy turned and strode out the tent, leaving Peter to glare at Edmund.

"Do you always have to make her so upset?" he demanded.

Edmund glared at his brother with an equal intensity. "It's not my fault she's such a baby. I was just trying to be realistic"

"What did you say to her?"

There was a tense silence as both brothers continued to glare at one another.

"I told her Susan wasn't going to join us anytime soon" Edmund said bitterly.

The anger on Peter's face melted off and became passive.

"It's too bad you feel that way," he said coolly, before he too turned on his heel and left the tent.

Edmund turned back to the map, not really studying any particular point. He was simply trying to avoid Caspian's gaze. The silence in the tent was deafening. Caspian finally broke the silence,

"You know Edmund, I understand you don't believe Susan can make it here, but perhaps you should give her a bit more cred-"

"You don't know anything about what I believe! Mind your own business!" Edmund snapped before pushing his chair back and storming out of the tent.

Outside, Peter and Lucy were nowhere to be found.

_Probably on their way to visit the beavers, again_ Edmund thought to himself. Still not quite cooled from his sudden outburst, with no desire to apologize to Caspian, he turned and headed for the woods. Hopeful that no one would search for him before nightfall. He walked purposefully into the forest, heading toward a hill that overlooked camp. The trek to the top was not a long one but Edmund sat, his back to a large tree, when he reached the clearing. Here it was quiet, no brother or sister to bother him, no unwanted comments, and no worries.

Edmund lost track of time and must have dozed off. When he opened his eyes again Aslan was standing at the edge of the clearing, staring at him with a somber expression. He stood quickly as the great lion turned and walked away. Sure that Aslan wanted him to follow, Edmund raced after him, down the hill and into another part of the forest that was not at all familiar. The lion continued to push on, despite Edmund's questions.

"Where are we going?"

And as soon as he came, Aslan was gone. Edmund looked around, bewildered. It wasn't like Aslan to suddenly disappear with no answer, to abandon someone in the middle of a forest.

"Susan?" Edmund squinted as he looked at a figure further in to the forest. The girl in the forest had long, dark hair and wore a coat very much like the one Susan had worn when they were younger. He was sure it was Susan now. The girl turned around.

"Susan!" Edmund exclaimed, rushing toward her. Susan acted as if she hadn't heard him and walked deeper into the forest.

"Susan, what are you doing? Camp is the other way" Edmund said as he struggled to follow her, but she continued to remain ahead of him. Then suddenly, Susan was gone and Aslan was back.

"What is happening?" Edmund asked irritably.

Aslan blew a gust of air into Edmund's face "Awake, Son of Adam."

Edmund woke with a jolt. It had all been a dream. The sky was just beginning to darken and the sun had not yet fully set as he walked back to camp.

"Edmund! Ed! Ed!"

He could hear Lucy and Peter's voice calling him as he got closer to the camp.

"Edmund where have you been?" Peter demanded when they were within sight of each other.

Edmund shook his head, dazed. He mumbled something about a hill before retreating to his tent.

Peter looked at Lucy, "What do you think's gotten into him?"

The youngest Pevensie shrugged.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_England_

When Susan woke, she found Jack getting dressed by the wardrobe. She smiled at him.

"Going in to the office already?"

He didn't return her smile.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Jack looked at her with a level stare, "Su, who is this Caspian you keep talking about?"

Susan's brows knitted together as she frowned, "Caspian? I don't know anyone named Caspian"

Jack gave her a look as he picked up his briefcase and headed out the door, "You should. You've said his name in your sleep for the past three nights"

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**A/N:Next update in about a week or so? Let me know what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Caspian._ Susan frowned. She didn't know a Caspian. The image of a dark haired boy flashed through her mind briefly. The name sounded like something Lucy would make up when she was younger, when they used to play pretend in the large wardrobe at Professor Kirke's house. But it had all been exactly that, make believe, imagined by children so many years ago.

Frustrated, Susan climbed out of bed, readying herself for the day. She had just finished pulling on her socks when she heard a knock on the door. Hoping that whoever it was would go away if she simply ignored them and pretended she wasn't in, she sat silently on the floor.

"Yoohoo Susan!"

It was Mary.

Cursing quietly Susan stood and walked toward the door, in no hurry. Pasting a smile on her face the second before she opened the door, she greeted the visitor warmly, as if she hadn't been trying to hide from her only seconds earlier.

"Mary! How nice of you to drop by!"

"Isn't it though? I passed Jack on my way up the walk and he seemed quite unhappy. Lover's spat?" Susan could see Mary quivering for a bit of gossip.

"No" Susan said firmly, "We aren't having a spat of any sorts."

Mary's face fell. Clearly, she had been hoping for some more exciting news, no doubt to tell anybody else who would listen.

"Well, I dropped by to see if you wanted to go to the market"

Looking around the usually spotless house and realizing she had nothing to do for the rest of the day Susan relented.

The two women found themselves in the bustling market, Mary walking briskly as she tossed things into her basket and Susan trailing behind her, observing things closer. Susan had just bent to examine a stand of what looked like very strange squash when she heard Mary shriek, "MOUSE!"

The girl picked up her skirts, stomping her feet randomly as the mouse scampered away from her feet and toward Susan who stood rooted to her spot by the squash. The mouse stopped in front of Susan, rising on its hind legs and sniffing the air. It looked almost like-

"Reepicheep" Susan said suddenly.

The mouse looked at her, Susan could have sworn it understood her, before it ran off in the other direction, disappearing underneath another stand.

"Susan! Oh, Susan! Are you alright dear? Can you believe there are mice here? Honestly I-" the rest of Mary's hysterical babbling was drowned out by the blood pounding in Susan's ears. She felt faint. She needed to sit down somewhere.

Spying a nearby bench Susan hurried over to it, certain her legs would give way if she didn't sit down soon. Beside her, the overdramatic Mary threw herself down on the bench. Mary was still talking, but Susan could hear none of it. Thoughts were flying through her mind. She didn't know a Reepicheep, but it was the second strange name she'd heard today that had seemed familiar to her.

_If only Lucy were here_, she thought glumly. Lucy had always had a knack for creating fantastic stories. Why, she had even convinced Susan that as children they had once ruled a faraway kingdom called -what _was_ it called? Susan racked her thoughts, irritated that she could not recall the name of the imaginary kingdom Lucy had created.

"SUSAN!"

Susan felt someone pinch her arm sharply.

"Ouch! What was that for?" she demanded, glaring angrily at the girl seated next to her.

Mary didn't even have the decency to look repentant for having pinched her so hard.

"You weren't responding to anything I said. Are you all right?"

"I was, up until you pinched me" Susan snapped.

"I was just trying to help. I was worried you'd gone into shock!" Mary said defensively.

"Well I wasn't"

The two woman looked at each other, tense, before Mary finally stood up and walked back in the direction of the market. Certain that the day's events would not get any better, Susan stood and walked in the other direction toward home, leaving Mary by herself in the market.

That night Susan slept fitfully, tossing and turning, twisting the covers off of Jack. (Eventually he had given up and moved to sleep in the spare bedroom they usually kept in case his mother came to visit.) As she slept Susan dreamt she was in a camp with richly colored gold and scarlet tents. Around the camp tools were scattered, clothing and food lay discarded, as if whoever had been here had left in a great hurry.

"Hello?" she called. The only noise was the sound of a crisp breeze, whipping the flag atop one of the tents.

"Susan"

Susan turned quickly and a scream rose in her throat. A large lion stood in front of her, its large golden eyes seemed to see into her very soul. She shivered, unsure of whether it was from fear or an uneasy feeling she could not explain.

"Nice lion" Susan said gently, the way one does to placate a large beast in hopes that it would not attack, "good lion"

"Susan" the lion said sternly, stunning her into silence.

"How do you know me?" she asked. But she knew, even as the lion said nothing, they had met before.

"See what Narnia has become in your absence" the lion continued, ignoring her question.

_Narnia_, that was the name of Lucy's make believe kingdom that she could not remember this morning.

"This is all a dream, just a dream" Susan said, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

"Yes, just a dream child, because you do not believe" the lion said.

A sense of unexplainable shame swept through Susan.

"There is no time for regrets, climb on my back" he said.

Susan finally found her voice, "Why?" she demanded. A single look from the lion quelled her bravado and she climbed onto his back. She had only just managed to grab hold of his mane before the world fell away beneath them. Susan closed her eyes, she felt her heart jump into her throat. The lion continued to make great leaps and bounds over the forest as Susan clung to his mane for dear life. Up ahead she could see small white protrusions from the Earth. As they neared Susan realized it was a small cluster of very shabby tents. The lion stopped abruptly and Susan slid quickly from his back.

As the two of them hurried toward the tents two figures came toward them. One of them Susan recognized right away, it was Edmund. The other was the dark haired boy that had appeared in her thoughts suddenly this morning when Jack had questioned her. Without thinking the name tumbled from her lips, "Caspian".

The two of them looked at each other before Edmund finally spoke and Susan broke her gaze to look toward her younger brother, "Why don't you believe Su?" he asked sadly.

Susan opened her mouth to retort that this was all just a dream, Edmund and the rest of her beloved family had died in a train wreck, but she never got the chance. She felt a sharp jerk, as if someone were yanking roughly on the back of her dress and she awoke with a start in her own bed.

_Narnia- Aslan's kingdom_

Caspian woke in his tent, drenched in sweat. It had all been so real. Aslan, who nobody had seen in ages, and Susan, looking as if she hadn't aged a day since he had last seen her. And she had said his name. If only that damned Edmund hadn't mentioned anything about believing.

_Ridiculous_, he thought, _being angry at Edmund for a dream he isn't even aware of._

All the same, he climbed out of bed and left his tent. To his surprise, Edmund was already outside, laying on the earth just outside his own tent, hands clasped behind his head.

"Ed?" Caspian grinned. Edmund Pevensie turned to look at him, his face expressionless before he looked away.

"Ed, you won't believe the dream I just had. You were in it and so was -"

"I know" Edmund said shortly.

Caspian was startled, "What do you mean you know?" he asked slowly.

Edmund sat up, "I mean I had the same dream, about Aslan and Susan."

"That's great! I thought -"

"No,"

"What?"

"If you hadn't been so busy watching Susan you would've noticed the tents. They were war tents Caspian" Edmund dropped his head into his hands as Caspian stood silently beside him.

"So what? It was just a dream," Caspian laughed.

"When was the last time you, or anyone, dreamt of Aslan?"

Neither one of them said anything for awhile. Nobody but Lucy ever dreamt of Aslan, and even she had only had those dreams once or twice when she was younger.

"You know what I think? I think Aslan is warning us. There's going to be a war and we need Susan," Edmund said.

"And how do you suggest we go about managing that?" Caspian asked.

"I don't know" Edmund said shaking his head.

"But I do know this-" here, Edmund looked at Caspian, his expression somber, "without Susan, I'm certain we're doomed"

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**A/N: Whew, sorry that took.. way longer than a week. If anybody's still reading this, feel free to drop a line or something.**


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